Oxnard, Calif. -- New Orleans Saints fullback Jed Collins said he has been cut 12 or 13 times while bouncing around with seven different NFL teams over the past three years.
But he might finally find a home in New Orleans.
Collins stood out in Saturday night's preseason game at Houston after being given his first chance to line up with the first-string offense, paving the way for a 13-yard run by Pierre Thomas, among other big gains.
The 6-foot-1, 255-pounder originally joined the Saints as part of their practice squad last year, and Coach Sean Payton said he stood out enough in practice that they wanted to give him a shot at the permanent gig this season.
"I've been grinding, trying to find a system that needs me, a program that likes me, an opportunity," said Collins, who originally joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008 as an undrafted free agent out of Washington State.
Since then, he's spent time with the Eagles, Browns, Cardinals, Chiefs, Titans, Bears and Saints. He was only on the active roster for two games with Cleveland in 2008 but did not play.
"It's been tough," Collins said. "But I've just been keeping it in my mind that I can play this game. And once your opportunity comes, you gotta stand into it. And I feel like I'm trying to take advantage of what they're giving me."
Collins is battling veteran newcomer Korey Hall for the starting fullback job, which was vacated when the Saints decided to part ways with veteran Heath Evans.
The Saints made a strong push to sign Hall as a free agent from the Green Bay Packers as soon as the lockout was lifted, so they obviously think highly of him. And by all accounts, he has also been impressing both as a blocker and a special teams standout.
But the Saints could wind up keeping both players. Typically they will keep a otal of five tight ends and fullbacks, whether it's a combination of four and one or three and two.
"That's a good competition going there with those two players, and both of them are having good camps," said Saints Coach Sean Payton, who said the team had been planning since last year to make Collins part of that competition.
"We felt like it was gonna be Jed and another player competing," Payton said. "I think as the season went on last year and as he was on the practice squad, he did some real good things against our defense and we began to see someone we thought was physical, and that was encouraging. So that's continued. His growth has been right in front of us, and he's done well."
Collins spent the offseason working with the Saints players at Tulane University and said he has been developing a trust and chemistry with his teammates, including quarterback Drew Brees, over the past year. He said that's important for a guy who has bounced around so many times.
"Confidence is always huge in this game, because as a free agent guy who's always competing for a job, you don't always get too many chances," Collins said. "So if you're in there always worrying about how you're doing or what you're doing, you're not gonna be able to get the job done. So being comfortable in there with Drew and the running backs, the new guys, being confident that I'm supposed to be in that huddle and I'm supposed to be on that field has really helped me this year.
"But other than that, it's just working hard and being ready to hit anything that moves."
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